From Pleasantview to Strangetown
by JazNim17
Summary: ...and everywhere in between.  A tale of several different Sims from the different neighborhoods, how they meet, and what happens.  Especially features the Pleasant twins, Ripp Grunt, and Cassandra Goth.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

Ripp Grunt stood alone on his front step, his face in his hands. Why did everything have to go wrong for him? He sighed to himself, wanting to cry. He didn't know how much longer he could live like this, constantly fighting with his older brother, Tank, and father, General Buzz. Not for the first time, he wished he could just leave.

A small smile came to his face as he imagined that. He would leave his annoying family and change his last name. He would be a millionaire and would live a wild, crazy life filled with pretty girls and parties, and everyone would be envious of him. Then Tank and General Buzz would recognize him from the TV and come beg for his forgiveness.

Ripp's fantasy ended when his brother Tank walked outside. Tension crackled in the air as the two brothers stared at one another, their glares full of malice. Ripp could remember a time when they loved each other, when they did not fight one another constantly, but that was a long time ago, before the death of his mother, Lyla.

"It's time for supper," Tank said in a clipped tone-the tone Tank always used when talking to Ripp. Ripp nodded and followed his brother inside.

"The world hates me," Ripp muttered to no one, gaining no response.

Angela Pleasant burst into tears, but Lilith didn't care. Lilith Pleasant hadn't cared much for her twin sister in years. Angela had always been the favorite, the good child. Lilith had a feeling that if she had been given so much love and attention as a child, she might be a good child too.

But no. Their father and mother had both favored Angela since birth. They gave her everything. They taught her to walk, and talk, and even potty trained her, while Lilith had had to figure those things out on her own, watching her sister. At first, she had hoped her parents would be proud of her, but soon she realized they never would be.

She wasn't Angela.

Lilith put her hand up, preparing to slap her sister again, then stopped when their father, Daniel, rushed into the room.

"What's going on in here?" demanded Daniel Pleasant. He turned to Lilith, his arms crossed. "What are we going to do with you, Lilith? You're always causing so much trouble! What on Earth did your sister ever do to deserve such ill treatment?"

"It's always Angela, Angela, Angela! Why don't you ever think of me?" Lilith yelled at her father.

"Lilith!" her father scolded.

"Maybe if you cared about me as much as you do your precious _Angela_," Lilith spat out the name with a cruel sneer, "I wouldn't be so hard for you to handle! I hate you!" Lilith turned and ran out of the house as fast as she could.

For a long time she simply ran, with no thought as to where she was going, only of where she was leaving. Somehow, she found herself in Woodland Park, the most scenic spot in all of Pleasantview.

"The world hates me," Lilith muttered to no one as she sat down on a park bench.

Cassandra Goth inwardly rolled her eyes at Dina Caliente, her father's new girlfriend. Sure, Mortimer deserved love, and she didn't expect him to remain faithful to her mother's memory forever, but did he have to fall for someone his daughter's age? Especially one of the Caliente sisters. Cassandra hated to say it, but the only word she could properly use to describe them was sleazy. That's why Cassandra hated situations like this.

Sitting straight, she recalled her promise to her father that she would be polite at dinner tonight. Still, did Dina have to look around the Goth's big dining room as though she were imagining herself the queen of it all? And did she have to lean toward Mortimer that way, no doubt exposing half of her volumptuous bosom to him?

Cassandra picked at her lobster thermidor, which had smelled so good while it was cooking. Despite her lovely new hairstyle and gorgeous formal gown, she felt outclassed by Dina, who was beautiful without trying.

She sighed. At least in two days she would be married to Don Lothario, and Dina Caliente wouldn't matter to her anymore.

"This lobster is wonderful, Morty," gushed Dina.

_Morty?_

"Why, I'm glad you like it, Dina," Mortimer responded in his low, gruff voice. "My daughter is becoming a wonderful cook these days." He smiled in Cassandra's direction, and for a moment she felt a little less awkward. She even managed a smile.

"Thank you," she said to Dina, "I'm happy that you're enjoying it."

"You cooked this? Darling," Dina purred, "I would have assumed this was the work of a master chef!"

Cassandra could see past the chummy compliments, but she played along. "Why, thank you, Dina. I could teach you, if you like."

"It is good, Cassie," remarked her little brother, Alexander, who had been sitting quietly, listening to the adults. The poor boy! He was so well behaved, but Cassandra could not help feeling sorry he had no other children to talk to. Perhaps she should have called that little girl he was always playing with. They could have taken their supper to his room and played while she, Mortimer, and Dina had their awkward dinner.

"What did you do today, Alex?" she asked, turning her attention to the one person at the table who wouldn't make her feel awkward.

Alex chewed thoughtfully. "I got my math test back today. I made an A, but I missed one question."

"Good work, son," Mortimer commented. He took another bite of lobster thermidor.

"What about your History test?" Cassandra asked. He had been so nervous for his last History test that Mortimer had to help him study.

"I didn't get that one back yet," he said. "It wasn't so bad, though. Dad showed me how to remember stuff, and it helped me out a lot." He smiled. "Then I got invited to play with the Newson twins tomorrow."

"Oh, that sounds fun," Cassandra enthused. Alexander nodded, then excused himself from the table. Cassandra wasn't far behind, leaving Mortimer and Dina alone.

Ripp had just sat down to supper when the phone rang. It was Ophelia Nigmos, his friend from school.

"Hey Ripp," she chirped in a friendly tone, "Aunt Olive and Johnny and I are headed to Pleasantview tomorrow for Aunt Olive's doctor's appointment. Johnny and I were gonna hang out in Downtown Pleasantview while we waited. Wanna come?"

"How long will you be away?" Of course Ripp wanted to go. Ophelia and Johnny, his two closest friends, were the main reason he even still lived in Strangetown. But Ripp didn't know if his father would allow that. His father didn't really like his friends.

"Not long. Just a day." That was one day Ripp didn't have to spend with his father and older brother.

"I'd love to." Ripp smiled at the thought. "Let me ask my dad."

"Okay. Call me back later, 'kay? Bye!"

"Bye," Ripp said, but Ophelia had already hung up.

"One of your friends?" demanded General Buzz as Ripp sat back down.

"Ophelia," Ripp said. "She wanted to know if I could go to Pleasantview with her."

"Pleasantview? A bunch of soft, sentimental drama queens, those Pleasantview folk. And if Pollination Technician #9 and his ilk don't leave them alone, they always will be. Is it just you and Ophelia?"

"And her aunt, Olive." Ripp paused a moment. He knew his father wasn't fond of Olive Specter. He was always suspicious of her because none of her husbands ever lived very long. Ripp never understood his father's suspicions; Olive had always been very kind to him. He also knew if he mentioned Johnny, the green-skinned son of Pollination Technician #9, his father would never allow him to go.

"Willow Nigmos was good folk," General Buzz grunted. "Shame she couldn't've lived to raise her child instead of that Olive. But go on, son. Pleasantview's a nice place for a visit, but I wouldn't want to stay."

Ripp was elated. For once, his father was doing exactly what Ripp wanted him to do.

"Aw, I wanna go too! Can't I go, dad?" Buck Grunt asked their father. Buck was the one member of his family that Ripp actually got along with, but he really didn't want to take him.

"No, you're going to study. I don't think it matters anymore whether or not Ripp studies." Ripp stared down at his plate, pretending he could not see his father's pointed look. "I found that 'D' report card you hid in your room, Ripp."

_Why are you treating me like this? Couldn't you have been nice to me for one whole supper? Is that so hard?_ Ripp wondered, but he said nothing. Instead, he simply stared at his macaroni and cheese as his father droned on.

"…and I don't see why I'm letting you go to Pleasantview with grades like that, but I've about decided that if you don't care, I don't care."

_Then why are you wasting time talking about it?_ But truth was, Ripp didn't care. Ripp just barely scraped through school and his job, while Tank soared through both. General Buzz had often commented that if Tank could do well in school and hold down a _real _job, something must be wrong with Ripp.

"Here, I'll get the kitchen," Ripp muttered as he rose and began to clear the table.

Angela Pleasant bit back a sob. She knew why Lilith was so spiteful, why she struck out at her family and especially at Angela. She was sure she wouldn't be happy either, if the roles were reversed, but it still hurt that her own sister hated her for what wasn't even her fault.

"Lilith!" she called, running down the street. "Lilith, where are you? Come back! I'm sorry," she whispered, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Angela? What's wrong?" someone called. Angela was in such a state that she barely even recognized the voice of her boyfriend, Dustin Broke.

"Oh, Dustin," she sobbed as he wrapped his arms around her. "There was a terrible fight at home, and Lil has run away. I went looking for her but… I don't even know which way she went!"

"I'll help you find her. Come on, we'll use my neighbor's car," Dustin said determinedly. "We'll find her." Dustin led Angela to the back of someone's house, where he opened the door to the car.

"Shouldn't we ask first?" Angela pointed to the house.

"Nah. He always leaves the keys in."

That wasn't the point, but Angela was too worried about her sister to press the issue. She got in the passenger side and shut the door.

"What are you thinking about, Morty?" asked Dina as soon as they were alone. Mortimer sighed. He loved Dina, he was certain of that, so why did his heart still cry for Bella?

"I…" he started, then stopped. "I was thinking of the night Bella disappeared."

_It was a warm night. Bella, Mortimer, Cassandra, and Don Lothario sat outside Don Lothario's small home. Cassandra hadn't been dating Don for very long at the time, and to Mortimer's annoyance, Don really seemed more interested in Bella. After dinner, Mortimer, Bella, and Don went upstairs to view the skies. Don showed Bella a new telescope he claimed was for Cassandra. _

"_Do you think she'll like it?" Don asked._

"_Perhaps. Mortimer, will you go and get Cassandra? I don't know what could be taking her so long."_

_Nodding, Mortimer went to fetch Cassandra. When they returned, a white-faced Don Lothario was alone on the patio. _

"_Where's Bella?" Mortimer demanded. "What happened to my wife?"_

"_It was the aliens…" Don stammered, but Mortimer didn't believe him, not for a minute. Still, something in Don's face showed he was afraid of something…_

"How awful for you," Dina purred, snuggling close to Mortimer. "I wonder where she went to?"

"Crap!" Dustin yelled when they saw the blue lights. "We're screwed." He pulled the car over and looked at Angela. "Bail," he ordered. "Now, before they see you and you get in trouble too."

Angela nodded. She opened the door and darted into the woods, and Dustin breathed a sigh of relief. Shrouded by darkness, the cops hadn't noticed her flight.

He heard the two policemen get out of their car and winced as their flashlights reflected off the mirrors and into his eyes.

"Matches the description," he heard one of them say. "Check the license plate." Dustin's heart pounded as the cop approached. "Hey, you're that Broke kid!" the officer exclaimed.

Of all the cops that could chase him, it had to be the same one who'd busted him two weeks ago for sneaking out? "Yes, sir," Dustin said carefully. He was screwed. The cop would take him in…

"The plate is a match," the second cop called to his partner. The first cop looked long and hard at Dustin.

"Care to tell me how you ended up driving a vehicle that was reported stolen earlier tonight?"

Dustin hung his head.

After hours of running, the exhausted Angela sneaked quietly back into her room. Maybe Lilith would come home soon. Maybe she already was home and Angela didn't know. She would find out in the morning. For now, Angela collapsed on her bed, and was asleep within minutes.

"Cassie?" Alex asked as Cassandra stepped outside, where her little brother was staring through his telescope. "Do you think Mom is up there?"

"In Heaven?" Cassandra asked, but Alexander shook his head.

"In outer space," he said. "I heard some of the teachers today. They said Mom was abducted by aliens."

"That's what Don says," Cassandra said softly. She trusted her fiance, Don, but she wasn't so sure she believed that her mother was abducted by aliens.

"Cassie, what's that?" Alex pointed at the sky. Cassandra followed his gaze and her eyes widened.

"Alex, get back! Come inside," she ordered, panicking. She grabbed her brother by the arm and yanked him with her as she ran inside.

"Cassandra, what is it?" Mortimer asked, disentangling himself from Dina. Cassandra was too frightened to speak, but Alexander wasn't.

"It's a flying saucer, Dad! Maybe they've got Mom!"

Cassandra hugged her brother close. "I doubt that," she said softly, but in her heart she wished it could be true…

"That's ridiculous, Alexander," laughed Dina Caliente. Cassandra glared at her. Mortimer crossed the room to peer through the blinds, which he quickly closed again.

"Everyone away from the windows," he ordered.

"Aliens in Pleasantview?" Dina laughed asked incredulously… A little too incredulously, Cassandra noticed.

"Cassie, I'm scared," Alex whispered, and Cassandra could do nothing but hold him close as the sound of the alien ship grew louder and louder, closer and closer.

"Ow!" cried a female voice—a voice the Goths knew all too well.

"Mom!" screamed Alex as he ran outside, into the arms of Bella Goth.


	2. Chapter 2

**I totally forgot I was supposed to do a disclaimer in the last chapter, so I'm doing it now for the whole story… I don't own The Sims franchise. I do, however, own a copy of The Sims 2 and all of the expansion packs, which I love.**

**And to VivianShadowGirl, thank you for your kind words! **

Chapter 2

Lilith awoke to broad daylight. She sat straight up in a moment of panic, wondering why she wasn't at home in her own room. She stretched her muscles, stiff from sleeping on the hard park bench in Woodland Park. She dimly recalled fighting with her parents and running here, where she must have cried herself to sleep. She stood. It was Saturday, so there was no school, but she still didn't want to go home.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she had left before supper. She felt in her pocket and smiled. She still had Angela's credit card (which had been the source of yesterday's fight). Straightening her clothes, she walked away from Woodland Park, headed for a small café that had recently opened in Pleasantview.

Nearly an hour later, Lilith was still in the café, devouring a huge omelette. Her hair and clothes were a mess, and the café waitress kept staring concernedly at her. Lilith cared very little for what the waitress thought. She kept on eating as though she had been starving.

"Look! That's where Bella lived!" Ophelia pointed at the huge Goth Mansion.

"Yeah, Ophelia," Ripp laughed at his friend as they rode down the Pleasantview street. "Let's go ask about Bella."

"We'll say my father kidnapped her and I'm going to get her back," commented Johnny, who was driving. He looked over at Olive Specter, who sat in the passenger seat.

Olive smiled. "I imagine you won't find much of a welcome, Johnny." Everyone in the car laughed. Olive was the one adult, other than Lyla Grunt, that Ripp actually liked. She was just so nice. She always treated her niece's friends like adults instead of kids, and never stood in the way of their fun. Ripp felt it was a shame that all her husbands had died. "The next turn is where I get off," she told the three teens. Johnny nodded and rounded the corner, where he dropped Olive off at the local doctor's office.

"What time will you be through, Aunt Olive?" Ophelia asked.

"Oh, who knows. These doctors know how to keep an old woman waiting. You'll see how it is when you get old like me, dearest." Olive paused for a moment, holding the door open. "I'll call you from the pay phone across the street when I'm done. Johnny, you have your cell phone with you, right?"

Johnny nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Olived pulled a small wad of cash from her purse and handed it to Ophelia. "This is for breakfast for the three of you. You can go to that little café we passed earlier, and get some breakfast in you."

"Thanks, Aunt Olive," Ophelia answered, and Ripp echoed her. Ophelia jumped in the front seat and they pulled away.

Cassandra watched with some trepidation as her mother flitted about the house in a decidedly un-Bella manner. It was just too good to be true. After all, what were the chances of her mother coming back right before her wedding to Don?

"Oh, Cassandra, you have no idea how good it is to be home," Bella said, smiling. The two of them had been up all night talking (because there was no way Cassandra was going to sleep with all of this on her mind. Mortimer and Alex stayed up extraordinarily late as well, but both had eventually gone to bed. Cassandra didn't like to say it aloud, but she was aware that her father's stamina was nowhere near what it used to be. Time, along with grief and worry over his missing wife, had aged him considerably.

Bella herself looked as though she were Cassandra's age. In fact, she looked exactly the same as she did all those years ago, before she disappeared. "I'm glad you're home too, Mom." She paused. "Can I ask a question? Why is it you still look so young? I expected you to be older."

Bella shook her head. "I remember very little, Cassandra. I was on Don's roof looking at the stars, and suddenly I was in a white room with all these green people. They kept drugging me, and every time I would wake up, something would be different."

"That's awful, Mom!" Cassandra leapt up to hug her mother.

"It's all right now, darling," Bella whispered in her daughter's ear, "But what was that sleazy Dina Caliente doing in my house last night?"

Cassandra burst into giggles. Dina had found an excuse to leave almost immediately after Bella's arrival, and as she walked away, she kept looking back over her shoulder to see if Mortimer would come for her.

"Let's just say that we won't be having to worry about her now that you're here," she said happily.

Dina woke by herself, which was strange. Usually, when she spent the night at Don's place, she woke to find him beside her. Though she spent all of her time trying to woo the wealthy Mortimer Goth, her true love was Don Lothario.

She had run to his house when Bella showed up, looking for comfort. "Our plan is ruined," she sobbed into his shoulder.

Though Dina and Don were lovers, they had made a plan to marry others. Don was engaged to Cassandra Goth, and Dina was working on an engagement to Mortimer. With both of their hands on Goth money, Don and Dina would no longer be stuck in these little shacks where they lived. They'd have everything, and even be able to be together, if they were sneaky about it.

"Don't worry, babe," Don whispered in her ear. "After I've married Cassandra and moved into the Goths' house, I'll find a way to get you into the family too."

Dina nodded and let Don lead her upstairs to his bedroom.

The café was a busy and noisy place. Ripp, Ophelia, and Johnny made their way up to the bar, where there were three open seats. "Excuse me," Ripp said as he sat down beside a redhead dressed in black.

The redhead nodded. Then she smiled. "Hi, I'm Lilith," she introduced herself, extending her hand.

"Uh, Ripp," he responded, giving her hand a small shake. She was kind of pretty, with green eyes and pleasant features.

"Hi, Ripp," she said, suddenly sounding shy. She turned away from him and went back to her omelette as the waitress came over. Ripp ordered a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

"So, uh…you live around here?" Ripp asked Lilith.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Lilith answered. "…I don't really want to talk about it," she muttered, seeing his raised eyebrow.

"Okay," he said, unable to come up with a proper answer. With nothing more to say, he turned back to his friends.

Lilith took another bite of omelette, wondering if she could work up the courage to talk to Ripp again. Maybe today wouldn't be such a bad day after all. It wasn't every day she got to meet a cute new boy.

It was then that she noticed the boy sitting beside him. "Ripp, she said slowly, carefully, "Is your friend green?"

"I have green skin, yes," the green boy answered. "My father also has green skin. I'm Johnny Smith, by the way, and this is Ophelia Nigmos. And of course you've already met Ripp."

"Um, yes," Lilith answered, feeling awkward. "So…does it bother you? Standing out like that?"

"Green skinned people aren't uncommon in Strangetown," Ripp answered for him. "He doesn't look strange to us."

"Oh." She looked down at her omelette again.

"It's okay," Johnny chuckled. "It's only native to Strangetown, so it doesn't bother me if people here are startled by it."

Lilith looked up. "So you're from Strangetown?" she asked, mainly to Ripp.

"Yeah. We brought Ophelia's aunt to the doctor here in Strangetown this morning. We've been traveling since 2 a.m., and we stopped here to grab some breakfast." Ripp smiled at her, and Lilith felt as though she might simply melt into a puddle. He was _so _cute!

"Hey Lilith," the girl Johnny had called Ophelia said. "Do you have a twin?"

"Yes, why?"

"There's a girl over there who looks exactly like you!"

Lilith turned to look, and met her sister's gaze across the café.

"Lili!" gasped Angela, running toward her twin. "You're all right!" Lilith allowed her sister to hug her. After all, she couldn't misbehave in front of her new friends.

"Why wouldn't I be all right, Angie?" she asked.

Angela didn't answer her. Instead she asked, "When are you coming home?"

"When I'm good and ready, and not a moment before." She expected Angela to argue, but she didn't. Instead she nodded, and hugged her again before running out of the café.

"Problems at home?" Ripp asked, making her jump.

"Um…" Lilith started.

"It's okay," Johnny broke in. We've all got family troubles of some sort. My dad's an alien, Ophelia's parents died and she lives with an aunt, and Ripp's dad loves his older brother but not him."

Lilith sighed. "Angela's always been the goody-two-shoes of the family. The one my parents were proud of. They were never proud of me." Tears slid from her eyes. What was she doing, telling her life story to a bunch of strangers? And crying? But the more she told, the better she felt, so she kept going, ending with last night's fight. "…I was really just mad because my boyfriend, Dirk, broke up with me, and Angela was being annoying, and I let everything out on her. Then my parents got into it and…"

"That's okay," said Ripp softly, handing her a napkin to dry her eyes on. She looked up at him and smiled.

Maybe, just maybe, she would go to Strangetown. Perhaps there, things would look up some? At least she would be away from Pleasantview. The decision was in her mind before she even realized it.

Lilith Pleasant was going to Strangetown.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I know this took forever… Since I started the first two chapters during Thanksgiving break, I had more time to write. I wrote this a little at a time. I hate doing that because I don't write as well that way, but… Oh well. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Lilith had never felt so special in her life as she sat beside Ripp in the car, showing everyone the sights around Pleasantview. It had been Ophelia who asked her to come along, since she obviously had nowhere to be. "…and that's Don Lothario's house. They say he has _four _girlfriends! And he's engaged to Cassandra Goth. They're getting married in like, 25 hours."

Johnny stopped the car and regarded the small shack for a moment. "Must be for money," he remarked.

"Yeah, everybody knows that, except Cassandra. Poor Cassandra. She's _so_ nice. She and my mom were friends as kids."

"That's cool," Ripp said.

"And if you take this turn, it'll take you to the shopping center," Lilith hinted. Johnny turned the car in the direction she had indicated. "So…What do you guys do for fun in Strangetown?" she asked suddenly.

"Hang out," Ripp answered quickly.

"Sometimes we go shopping, but mostly we just hang out at my Aunt Olive's," Ophelia told her, turning around in her seat to address Lilith. "Except for Ripp's brother Tank, we're the only teenagers."

"Wow. It must be a really small town. Why doesn't Tank hang out with you guys?" Lilith asked.

Her question got a huge reaction from the two boys. "Ugh!" Ripp nearly yelled, at the exact same moment as Johnny exclaimed, "Because he's a jerk!"

"Tank doesn't exactly get along with everybody," Ophelia explained. "He picks fights with Johnny all the time, and I'm not sure how he and Ripp have managed to live together all these years."

"It's called a door," Ripp muttered. "You lock it and Tank can't get in."

Ophelia giggled and turned back around in her seat. "We're here!" she announced happily, staring at the shopping center through the glass.

"Oh, Cassie, you look beautiful," Bella enthused, straightening Cassandra's veil. Cassandra had bought her wedding gown weeks ago, but for some reason she felt the need to show her mother. After all those years of being the only female in the house, she found Bella's company rather…refreshing.

"You do look pretty, Cassie," remarked Alexander, who was standing in the doorway. He had canceled his playdate with the Newson twins in favor of spending the day with his mother and the rest of his family.

"Thanks, Alex." Cassandra bent to kiss her brother's cheek.

"What's going on in here?" Mortimer poked his head in the doorway. "Oh!" he exclaimed when he saw Cassandra in her dress. "Is the wedding today? I thought it was tomorrow!"

"It _is_ tomorrow, Daddy," Cassandra giggled. "I'm just showing Mom my gown!"

"You will be a beautiful bride," Mortimer assured her.

"I can't wait for Don to see," Cassandra responded, smiling into her mirror. She was so happy, she didn't notice the frowns that appeared on both of her parents' faces.

Don and Dina both slept late that morning. Dina awoke at noon, maybe an hour before Don. Stealing downstairs into the kitchen, she attempted to make breakfast for herself, but wound up burning the pancakes.

"Shoot," she muttered. The smell was making her sick, sicker than she'd ever felt before. She decided to lie down on the couch awhile.

Don came down the stairs not long after, having smelled the burning pancakes. "What's the matter, baby?" he asked, seeing her prone form on the couch.

"I don't feel well," was all Dina would say.

Don nodded and walked into the kitchen. "Cassandra's coming over in a little while," he told her, bending to get a new pan from the cabinet.

"What?" Dina exclaimed. Cassandra already didn't like Dina, and Dina wasn't overly fond of her either. Dina knew that she would have been Mortimer's wife years ago if Cassandra hadn't convinced her father that Bella might come back. Cassandra- that ugly little toad who couldn't even fix her hair properly- had always been polite to Dina, but that was it. And even that was as fake as the affection which Dina had lavished upon the Goth family.

Dina did not hate Cassandra Goth, but neither was she thrilled by the thought of being in the room with her. Really, all Cassandra had ever been to her was an obstacle, even all those years ago when Dina was married to Michael, Bella's older brother.

"_Uncle Michael, will you read me a story?" the little girl asked, crawling into her uncle's lap. Smiling, she handed him the book she'd selected from the shelf._

"_Of course," Michael Bachelor smiled, turning his attention away from his young wife (Michael was nearly fifty, but he was rich, and that was all Dina cared about, even at seventeen). "Anything for my Cassandra!"_

_Young Cassandra giggled, her dark hair falling in messy strands around her face. "You're so silly, Uncle!" she leaned back against him and pointed to the book in his hand._

"The Adventures of Raymundo_," he read aloud. Dina stood by quietly, listening as he read, pointing at pictures and enjoying his time with his niece. She realized with a start that she was jealous of the little girl who had so much power over Dina's husband that she could climb in his lap and ask for a story, and he would never think to deny her._

"_The end," Cassandra said eventually as Michael closed the book. "That was a good story, wasn't it, Uncle?"_

"_Any story is good when I get to read to my little angel," her uncle told her. "I wish I could have a little girl just like you."_

"_And she could play with me," Cassandra said thoughtfully. "And you could name her Cassandra!"_

_Michael laughed. "I can't name her Cassandra. That's your name."_

"_Well, if I have a little boy one day, I'm going to name him Michael. And that's _your _name."_ _Cassandra turned to stare thoughtfully at Dina. "Why doesn't your wife have you a little girl?" she asked suddenly._

_Michael didn't even look at Dina. "Eh," was all he said._

_A few days later, Dina found her husband's will. It was in his study, lying on his desk. He wished to leave everything to his niece, Cassandra, with a mere pittance for his wife to live on. Crushed, Dina grabbed up the will and shredded it into bits._

"_Dina?" Michael's voice called. Dina turned to see that he had been watching her from the doorway. "What's all this? That's my will!"_

"_You were going to let me starve to death!" Dina cried, facing her aging husband with fire in her eyes._

"_Oh, you'd find a way to live, I should think. A money-grubbing prostitute like you will always manage to find a way to live." His eyes flashed. "I left my money to someone who loves me truly, and I will make certain that you never see a cent!"_

Dina sat on the couch, watching Don. She had never told Don about her marriage to Michael Bachelor, nor did she plan to. She had never loved Michael, but his lack of feelings toward her had really hurt. He had been in love with her in the beginning of their short marriage, but he had quickly caught on to her schemes.

_After the fight in Michael's study, suddenly he became extremely tight with his money. He only allowed her a certain amount of money per week, and he tracked her spending, sometimes even returning items she had bought. They fought frequently, and it was in one of these fights that Michael had his heart attack. Dina let him lay on the floor, and called an ambulance only after she was certain he was dead._

_When the ambulance came, she put on a good imitation of a greiving widow. She even sobbed as she told her story to the medical personnel: "My husband was sitting in his chair watching football when he started having these pains in his chest and suddenly…" Dina broke off, as if it hurt to say it._

_Two days later they had the funeral, and the next day, the will was read. Michael had drawn up a new will to replace the one she had ripped to pieces, and this one left absolutely nothing to Dina. A small sum was given to his sister, Bella, and the rest was to be put in Mortimer's care. It would be Cassandra's when she came of age._

"Dina? Dina, are you all right?" Don asked.

"Yeah," she muttered. "I'd better go before your little girlfriend gets here."

Don nodded, not really understanding, but knowing that he really didn't care to explain Dina's presence to Cassandra.

"Isn't this just adorable?" Ophelia asked Lilith, holding up a black and grey halter top. Lilith smiled. It was, indeed, a cute top. Lilith didn't shop for clothes much; that was usually Angela's thing.

However, she was enjoying Ophelia's company. The dark-skinned girl really seemed to be into punk, but she was flexible enough to enjoy the Gothic store where Lilith bought most of her clothes. "I like it," she told Ophelia. "You should try it on."

Instead, Ophelia held the top against Lilith's skin. "It would look better on you," she said.

Lilith paused, looking behind Ophelia into a mirror on the wall. The top _would _look good on her, and perhaps those dark jeans in the corner would work well with it. "Hmm, well, maybe we'll both try it on," she said, reaching down to grab the jeans.

Several minutes later, Lilith stood in the dressing room, wearing the black-and-grey top with a pair of dark, baggy jeans. She smiled at her reflection. Maybe she would dye her hair black. "How do I look?" she asked, stepping out of the dressing room to show Ophelia.

"Cute. But you know, that outfit just needs black hair."

Lilith broke into giggles. "That's what I was thinking!"

Ophelia eyed her thoughtfully. "Is there a salon here?" she asked. When Lilith nodded, Ophelia went on, "Maybe we can both dye our hair black! Won't the boys be surprised when we meet up with them later?"

Lilith grinned. Her parents never would let her dye her hair, but who cared? She wasn't going back. She darted back into the dressing room to change back into her regular clothes.

Thrilled with their idea, the two girls made their way to the checkout. Lilith had decided to buy the outfit, and Ophelia had picked out a dark orange tank top for herself, which she would wear with a pair of baggy brown pants similar to the jeans Lilith had bought.

"I noticed you watching Ripp earlier," Ophelia said as they left the store with their purchases, heading for the salon. "Do you like him?"

Lilith was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Ophelia. "He's…cute," she said noncomittally.

Ophelia nodded. "Ripp _is _cute," she agreed. "He deserves a nice girl. Unfortunately, I'm the only girl in Strangetown." She pursed her lips. "Johnny deserves a nice girl, too."

"Are you…dating either of them?" Lilith asked, worried for a moment that she had crossed a line, admitting she liked Ripp.

"I dated Johnny for a little while," Ophelia explained. "I've always liked him. But it didn't work out."

"Oh." Lilith looked down at her shoes.

"As for Ripp… he's cute. But he's practically my brother. We've been friends for forever." Ophelia smiled. "I think he likes you."

"Really?" Things were definitely looking up; Lilith had all but forgotten her life before today. The teens from Strangetown were all that mattered to her now.

"Man, I love this place," Johnny commented as he and Ripp sat down with their hot dogs.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. You know you just love hot dogs," Ripp pointed out.

"Like you don't?" Johnny asked.

"I never said that."

"Then don't pick on me about it."

"Just eat your hot dog," Ripp said, his mouth full of hot dog.

Laughing, Johnny followed Ripp's example and proceeded to stuff his face with hot dog. Being boys, they consumed the meat fairly quickly, and still weren't full.

"Wonder what the girls are doing?" Johnny asked after a while.

"I dunno, probably trying on clothes. Or make-up," Ripp responded. "Wanna hit the arcade?"

"They should be here any minute," Johnny made a point of looking at his watch. "It's nearly one." Since Ripp and Johnny didn't want to look at clothes with the girls, they had split up, agreeing to meet back in the food court at one o'clock.

Ripp nodded and leaned back in his chair. He was about to close his eyes when he spotted them. "Johnny, look," he said suddenly. "I think it's them."

Johnny looked over his shoulder. "Nonsense. Ophelia has blonde hair and Lilith's hair is red."

"Unless they dyed it black." Ripp watched the two girls as they walked closer.

"Hey, Johnny," Ophelia said, coming up behind the green-skinned boy.

Johnny gave a start. "Ophelia, you dyed your hair!" he exclaimed, staring at her.

Ripp heard no more, because that was when he noticed Lilith. She wore her hair in the same stlye she had worn it before, with part of it swept back in a silver barrette, but somehow, black hair made her look totally different. She wore a pretty, black-and-grey halter top with a pair of baggy black jeans and black sneakers instead of the black dress she had worn before. "You look…pretty," he said slowly, blushing.

Lilith blushed as well. "Thank you," she said shyly, looking down at her shoes.

Ripp examined the floor a moment before Johnny's ringtone shattered the quiet.

"Hello?" Johnny asked, holding the phone up to his ear. "Yes ma'am, we're coming to get you in a second." Johnny hung up. "Time to get Aunt Olive."

"Now?" Ophelia asked. She turned and hugged Lilith. "You should come visit us in Strangetown sometime," she told her. "I enjoyed hanging with you."

"Do you need us to drop you off anywhere?" Johnny asked. "I know you're not going home, but…"

It seemed to Ripp that Lilith hesitated a little before she spoke. "I was hoping to go to Strangetown with you," she admitted.

"That would be awesome!" exclaimed Ophelia, "But where would you stay?"

"I'm sure my dad could come up with something," Johnny answered for her. "Come on, we can't just stand around talking!"

Ripp smiled. He had a feeling he was going to like having a girl in Strangetown who wasn't with his best friend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so Christmas Break started as of yesterday, giving me more time to write. Maybe I'll get a few more of these written before the end of the break. I liked this chapter because while writing it, I figured out which direction to go next! This is loosely based on my Sims 2 game, but sometimes it's hard to take stuff that happens in my Sims game and make it into story format. For example, in the Sims, pregnancy only lasts three days, but that is totally unrealistic. (Like green-skinned people aren't? Hee hee).**

Chapter Four

Don Lothario stood proudly in his black suit, waiting for his bride. He caught sight of the Caliente sisers from where he was standing, and although they were on his mind, he felt sure he was pursuing the right course of action…for everyone. He would get his money, Cassandra would get her wedding, and the Caliente sisters would get him whenever he had free time.

Don didn't tell Dina that it wasn't Cassandra who came to visit the night before his wedding, but Nina, Dina's fraternal twin sister. The Caliente sisters looked nothing alike, but Don considered them both his type. He wasn't sure how the sisters would take to him dating both of them, so he'd had to get Dina out of the house before her sister came over.

The music started, and Don was forced to focus. He put on a wide grin when Cassandra came in, as though he were thrilled to be marrying her. And he was, in a way. He'd never have to worry about bills again.

Cassandra walked slowly, holding Mortimer's arm. Her long white train trailed elegantly behind her, and her hair was fixed in a sophisticated bun ringed with blue flowers and topped by her veil. She did look lovely, Don supposed, but he couldn't help but imagine how Dina or Nina would look in the same outfit.

She came to a halt before the priest, who turned to Mortimer. "Who gives this bride in holy matrimony?"

Mortimer's answer was clear and proud. "Her mother and I."

Two aisles down, Dina squirmed and Bella smiled. Mortimer left to sit beside his wife, and Cassandra was left with the priest and Don.

Just then, Don realized what he was doing. He was about to make a really huge mistake. He didn't even like Cassandra! What if she turned out to be a jealous wife? What if she wanted kids? What if he never saw any of his lovers again?

"Mr. Lothario? We're waiting," the priest said snippily.

"I…" he looked at the crowd, or, more specifically, at Dina Caliente. Her eyes penetrated his very being, and he remembered the plan. "I do."

Satisfied, the priest turned to Cassandra. "Cassandra, do you take Don as your lawfully wedded husband?"

Cassandra had no doubts or fears. "I do," she said warmly.

"You may kiss the bride," the priest announced, and Don leaned forward to give Cassandra a chaste kiss on the lips.

Both Caliente sisters excused themselves from the wedding reception, stating that they felt sick, which was partially true. Both women had vomited all morning, which each privately supposed was from disgust at the idea of "her" Don marrying someone like Cassandra.

Neither sister had told the other about her affair with Don Lothario, as each was aware that the other one had a crush on him. So Nina, knowing about her sister's crush on Don, was not aware that Dina knew about her own feelings for Don, and vice versa. They seldom spoke of him for that very reason.

"Mortimer doesn't even seem to _know _me now that Bella is back," Dina confided to her sister on the way home. "Wonder why the PTs brought her back? I thought they wanted her for a reason."

"Well, you remember when we talked to PT 17?" Nina asked, referring to a green-skinned distant cousin of theirs. "He said there was a traitor within the ranks…PT 9, I believe. Maybe the traitor brought her back."

Dina paused for a second. "Brandi Broke was telling me that she saw one of the Pleasant twins talking to a boy with green skin yesterday. I told her it must have been a trick of the light. But I did think it was weird, because the PTs don't really seem to care for Pleasantview."

The sisters chuckled, thinking about their cousin's reaction to Pleasantview. Xeric, better known as Pollination Technician #17, had stared in horrified awe at their home the night they had met him. "_This is where you live?"_ he'd gasped, but then he had said no more, so they didn't know what exactly he didn't like about their home.

Nina pulled in the driveway then, and the sisters went inside. In a few hours, both were asleep.

"Can't we do something, Dad?" Johnny begged. Pollination Technician #9 Smith (or PT, as his son's friends called him) looked around at the teenagers gathered in his living room. "She's all alone with no place to stay."

"Where did you stay last night?" he asked the dark-haired girl standing between Ripp Grunt and Ophelia Nigmos.

"I spent the night with Ophelia," the girl explained. "Please, Mr. Smith, can't you find some place for me in Strangetown? Ripp said you're very respected around here…by everyone except his father, I mean," she quickly amended.

PT smiled and patted Ripp on the shoulder. "Ripp is kind," he told the girl, "and very perceptive. Why don't you come and tell me why you came to Strangetown in the first place?"

"My name is Lilith Pleasant. I was born in Pleasantview. I have one twin sister and my parents _hate _each other, but they both agree on one thing… they both love Angela more than me." She paused and took a breath, working up her courage. "A few weeks ago I caught my father in bed with the maid."

PT watched her, interested. Humans didn't always just open up to him so quickly, especially humans who didn't know aliens existed until the day before. That meant Lilith either was very open about her feelings (which he doubted) or she needed to talk to someone about this. He figured it must be the latter.

"I shouldn't have cared, but it just kept _eating _at me! For the last few weeks it was all that I could think about, and I kept getting angry at everyone, even Dirk."

"Dirk?" PT asked.

"Dirk Dreamer. My b—my _ex_-boyfriend." Lilith was trembling. "I snapped at him a few times. It wasn't him I was angry at, really, but…yesterday at school, he told me he couldn't take it anymore. He broke up with me. No one was ever on my side but Dirk, and now, I don't even have him." She steeled herself. "I went home upset. Angela tried to help, but…she wound up making me angrier. So we fought, and my dad came home and sided with Angela immediately. I…ran away. There's nothing left for me in Pleasantview."

PT regarded Lilith sternly. "I will allow you to stay here with my family. But you must attend school every day, and you will be expected to do your share of chores in the house."

Lilith's green eyes widened. "Thank you, sir! I won't let you down, I promise!"

"Where has Lilith gotten off to? This makes two nights since that girl has come home!" Mary-Sue Pleasant demanded.

"She'll be home," Daniel growled, impatient with Mary-Sue's constant worrying. Angela cringed at his tone. Her father almost seemed to like Lilith being gone.

For Angela, life had been much more peaceful since Lilith had left…and much harder. She was constantly dreaming up awful scenarios where Lilith had been mugged, raped, left for dead in a dark alley… Just last night she had come downstairs to watch TV when her nightmares refused to let her sleep.

Lilith was Angela's twin. She was her worst enemy, and her best friend. When she was home, Angela wished she would just go away. Now that she was gone, Angela would give anything to get her back. Such is the nature of sisters.

The phone rang, and Angela ran to get it. Maybe it was Lilith! "Hello?"

"Hi, um… Angela?" the voice on the other end of the line guessed. "This is Johnny Smith. I'm one of the guys you saw with Lilith the other day. The green one, kinda hard to miss."

"Um, hi. Do you know where my sister is?" Angela asked.

"Lilith is safe. She has relocated to Strangetown, and is living with my family. She doesn't know I'm calling you, but I felt like you needed to know." Johnny hung up, and Angela stared at the phone for a moment before putting it down.

On second thought… Angela picked up the phone and pressed redial. "Lilith can be reached at this number too, right? If I want to call her?" she asked hurriedly.

"Yeah. She lives here now," Johnny told her. There was an awkward silence, and finally Johnny added, "So… How's your family?"

"Tense," Angela said honestly. "My parents are angry about Lilith leaving."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Look, Lilith is about to come up the stairs. I'll talk to you later, all right? Bye."

"Bye." The word came out as a strangled sob. Angela put down the phone and stood there a moment, contemplating.

Strangetown. Her sister was in Strangetown, nearly a hundred miles from home. Angela didn't know whether to be grateful Lilith was okay, or to cry because she was so far away. Finally, she climbed the stairs up to her room.

"RIPP!" General Buzz yelled as soon as Ripp walked in the door. Ripp paused, scared. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MORNING?"

"I was…at Ophelia's," Ripp lied, knowing that his father would freak out if he knew that Ripp had gone with Ophelia and Lilith to speak to PT.

"You're always at Ophelia's! What are you, married to her or something?" his father demanded.

_Actually, Dad, half the time I'm at Johnny's, _Ripp thought, but he didn't say it aloud. He knew better. "No, Dad. It's just that she's my only friend here in Strangetown."

"Well you be careful around that aunt of hers, you hear? That lady killed your mother!"

Ripp winced. That was the rumor, at least—that Lyla Grunt had been killed by Olive Specter. But Ripp knew better. Olive couldn't kill anyone. "Uh, sure thing, Dad." Ripp moved to walk around his father, and thankfully, General Buzz moved out of his way and said nothing else.

Ripp climbed the stairs to his room, where Tank was waiting for him. "Where have you been?" Tank teased. "With your little _girlfriend?_"

"No, I was with Ophelia," Ripp snapped back, moving to close the door, but Tank stopped him.

"So…who's the black-haired babe I saw you with earlier, walking to the Smiths' house?"

"Her name's Lilith. She's an exchange student from Pleasantview. She'll be staying with the Smiths."

"Lilith, huh?" Tank smiled. "She's pretty."

"She's flat out _hot_," Ripp corrected. "And you stay way from her."

"I don't see you having any claim on her, little brother," laughed Tank as he walked away.

That night, Cassandra and Don celebrated their first night as a married couple. Downstairs, Bella and Mortimer shook their heads silently. The newlyweds planned to continue living in the Goth Mansion.

"That boy worries me," Bella said finally. "I don't think he really loves her."

"I know he doesn't," her husband responded, "but Cassandra has to make her own mistakes. I love her dearly, but I can't protect her from her choices. I warned her, but she doesn't hear me."

"She's infatuated." Bella sighed. "Maybe I just don't like him because if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been abducted." She leaned toward her husband. "I figured out today that I'm pregnant."

"How?" Mortimer was shocked.

"I'm not sure…but I know it's got to be something the aliens did. It's not normal, Mort. I can already feel the baby moving, and I'm not even showing." Bella drew her knees up to her chest and tried not to cry.

Mortimer didn't really know what to do, but he went to his wife and gathered her in his arms. "If raising another baby is the price of having you back… then I'll be thrilled to have another baby in the house."

Bella leaned against him as he held her, and they stayed that way a long time.

The next morning, Monday, found them asleep on the couch, Bella laying content in her husband's arms.

Cassandra pulled herself out of bed and smiled to herself. Last night had been so amazing. She wrapped a robe around herself and headed toward the bathroom. Even newlyweds had to work, after all. She and Don had had to postpone their honeymoon because the lab where she worked could ill afford to let her go right now.

She showered and dressed, then grabbed headed downstairs, stopping to kiss her husband's cheek as she walked by. Pouring some cereal, Cassandra sat down to eat.

"Mornin', Cassie," Alexander said, rubbing his eyes as he walked down the stairs in his pajamas. "Can I have some of that?"

"Get you a bowl and I'll pour you some." Alexander grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet, and Cassandra poured some cereal and milk in it.

They ate in silence for some time. Then Alexander asked, "Cassie? Are you happy being married to Don?"

Cassandra smiled. "Of course, Alex. Why do you ask?"

But Alex wouldn't say.

Don woke hours later, and headed downstairs to find breakfast. Finding himself alone in the house, he poured a bowl of cereal and sat down in the living room to watch TV.

There was nothing on but the news, but that suited Don just fine. He really just wanted the noise. He was right in the middle of breakfast when the doorbell rang. Rising from the couch, he peered through the glass and saw Dina Caliente.

"Dina! Come in," he greeted warmly, opening the door. He went to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"Don, I'm pregnant." The words were flat and hard. "So is my sister."

Don stopped and stared at the blonde woman. "Dina…"

"What are you going to do about this, Don? You got two women pregnant, and you're already married. What's going to happen when Cassandra finds out?"

"She won't find out," Don promised. "I have access to the money now, and I'll slip you everything you need to take care of our baby." His words were calm, but his heart was pounding. Kids? Bad enough to find out he had impregnated one woman. Worse to discover two women carrying his child…and even worse, they were sisters! How would he escape this? How to tell Dina that he had no interest in children?

Dina stared at him for a long moment. Then she ran into his arms. "I knew you'd take care of us," she said, kissing his lips. Don leaned forward, engrossed in what he knew could be his last time to make out with Dina.

They were still standing there, entwined, when Mortimer drove up, with Cassandra in the passenger seat.

Cassandra was in a good mood. Her father had come to her work to take her out to lunch, and her boss had decided to give her the rest of the day off. She was eager to get home; after all, she had a new husband waiting for her.

But her good mood shattered when she arrived, along with the rest of her. To see Don, _her_ Don, making out with that…that slut! "Don!" she shrieked, jumping out of the car. Don let go of Dina then and paused, giving her a deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Cassandra… I can explain," Don stammered.

"EXPLAIN? My husband is making out with some easy whore and you think you can EXPLAIN? I'd love to hear this," Cassandra shot back. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Cassandra pointed to the street. "I want you to go. Just go, Don! I'll get your things to you later." Tears streamed from her eyes. "I can't believe you did this to me."

"Cassandra…" Don reached over to hug her, but she pushed him away.

"Go away, Don," she said through gritted teeth. "We're getting a divorce just as soon as I can find a lawyer."

And with that, the shortest marriage in all of Pleasantview, lasting only a night and half a day, was over.

Nine months later, Cassandra would give birth to twins, Mortimer and Melanie, conceived on her wedding night. She stared down at them and tried so hard to deny their resemblance to Dina's daughter, Mina, and Nina's son, Blake. Both of the Caliente sisters had given birth a month before her.

She laughed when she thought of it. Six babies had been born that year. Four of them were Don Lothario's, and not one bore his last name. The other two were her mother's green-skinned twin sons, Taylor and Tyler, now three months old.

No, the heartache wasn't over. But at least now she would be busy, with two sets of twins in the house, and being busy would take her mind off of her broken heart. _So I suppose this is the end, _Cassandra thought as she stared down at the sleeping faces of her children.

Little did she know, every end is only a new beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Merry Christmas! Somewhere between finals and babysitting jobs, I managed to get this written. This is my first fanfiction and I'm kind of getting addicted to it. While this is based on my Sims 2 Megahood, which I have been playing a lot, I have taken a lot of liberties for the sake of keeping the storyline intact. I'll have to keep writing just to see what happens. **

**Also, so there's no confusion, I always kind of figured La Fiesta Tech was made for Strangetown(desert setting and an alien girl as one of the premades) and Acadámie La Tour and Sim State University were generic. For this story, La Fiesta is on the edge of Strangetown, Sim State is just outside Pleasantview, and Acadámie La Tour is in Belladonna Cove. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

_It's been five years since the return of Bella Goth…and the disappearance of Lilith Pleasant. Once again, the people of Pleasantview have been dealt hard times, and must deal with this the same way they did the first time—by ignoring it. But while most of the neighborhood has moved on, some still suffer silently._

_ Consider the girl whose only happiness comes in the form of nightly phone calls. Every night she calls her sister and they talk for hours. She tells her sister about everything: her relationships, her parents' recent divorce, even her father's new girlfriend. She doesn't say, of course, how her parents simply forgot her sister over the course of the years. When they lived together, they did nothing but fight. Now, they're best friends._

_ "I can't wait to see you, Lilith," Angela says truthfully as they discuss their plans to both attend Sim State University in the fall._

_ "Me neither, Ange. And I can't wait for you to meet Ripp." Angela can't wait to meet her sister's boyfriend either. She's heard so much about him._

_ "Meet me after class the first day," Angela makes her sister promise._

_ "I will."_

_ Now consider the man who has lost everything. Years of scheming for money left him alone and penniless in seconds. He's lost all of the women he ever cared for to his own children. Once the man everyone wanted to be, he's now scorned as the jerk who cheated on Cassandra Goth the day after they were married. He works day and night to make child support payments for two of his children. Thankfully, Cassandra doesn't require child support for her twins. She just wants Don out of her life._

_ He can't help thinking that if he were still married to Cassandra, he would have the money for those child support payments. In the scant spare time he has, he dreams of that one night when he was rich and loved rather than a broke nobody. Even Dina won't speak to him now, since he told her he loved her but didn't want her son._

_ The phone sits quietly beside him. It never rings anymore. And when it does, it's bill collectors. He picks it up for a moment, but then sets it back down. Who would he call? Dina? Nina? Cassandra? And what would he say?_

_ Consider the two sisters, once the hottest girls in Pleasantview, as they raise their unwanted children. Every day, they must look at their two children and realize, unfortunately, that they are brother and sister as well as cousins. No, neither one had ever planned it this way._

_ But they had to forgive each other. There was no way to live together and be angry all the time. It was Don who had wronged them; Don who secretly slept with both sisters and then wouldn't face the consequences for his actions._

_ So Dina cares for her little Blake, and Nina for her daughter Mina. Neither of them is happy. But happiness may very well be an illusion._

_ Consider the real victim of this tragedy, the young divorcee whose hopes and dreams were crushed within in a day of their realization. What was supposed be the happiest time of her life turned into a time of heartbreak and disappointment._

_ She consoles herself by caring for her twin brothers and her own twins. She loves her children more than anyone she had ever loved before, but her heart still longs for the love of a man, a man who would stand beside her and love their children. She still dreams of that perfect family that she never would have._

_ After all, men like that donn't exist. At least not in Pleasantview. _

_ "Men are scum," says Mary-Sue, her friend who has also dealt with a cheating husband and a divorce._

_ "I wish we'd realized that a long time ago," Cassandra says sadly, holding little Mortimer tightly. "My father and brother aren't scum."_

_ "Your father is a special kind of man, Cassandra. Men like him don't happen often. Thankfully, your brother is learning from him."_

_ Cassandra could only agree._

"I do wish you'd hurry up and help me," Cassandra remarked to her brother. Holding a child in each arm, she had no free hand with which to cook supper.

"I'm coming. Give me a minute." Alex looked up from his computer. "You do know I could hold one of them while I do my research, right?

Cassandra thought about that a moment, then handed him Melanie, her daughter. Melanie squirmed for a moment as her mother released her, then snuggled into her uncle's shirt. Alex wrapped his left hand around the shy four-year-old and .

Sighing, Cassandra began work on supper. She loved her children, but it had begun to bother her that they were progressing so slowly. She knew it was because, as twins, they had had to share all of the nourishment in the womb, and had a smaller birthweight than single babies do. Her mother's twins had also developed slowly, but they had caught up to the other children before they turned four. Her twins were still much smaller than the other children their age, and much more dependent on their mother, but she supposed that was because of their lack of a father.

She could teach her babies to walk and to talk. She could potty train them and teach them nursery rhymes and the alphabet. There were a million ways she could help her children. She just couldn't help them in the "Daddy" department.

She supposed, sometimes, that her children must look at Alex as their father. Now fifteen, Alex had proven himself a responsible, reliable young man. His two brothers and his niece and nephew adored him. At any given moment, one of the four would be on his heels, following him around. They slept in his bed, ate his supper, pulled his hair…but Alex was a patient, kind boy.

It was too bad the kids at school couldn't see that. Alexander was one of those shy, nerdy guys that attracted bullies. Cassandra had been picked on at his age, too, but it didn't hurt her nearly as much as it did him.

Cassandra was an excellent cook, and before long the house began to smell of tacos. Alex finished his research and came in to help her, and the two chattered away, each holding a twin, as they cooked.

"Victor got me on the bus today," Alex reported glumly. Victor was a new boy who constantly bullied Alex.

"Did he hurt you?" Cassandra turned to examine him. No black eyes.

"He took my backpack." Alex looked down at the floor. "Now I don't know what I'll tell my teacher when she asks for my homework."

"Tell her the truth," Cassandra suggested as she pulled the hot taco shells out of the oven. "Go upstairs and get Mom and Dad and the boys. It's supper time."

Alex darted up the stairs and returned with Mortimer, Bella, and Bella's twins in tow.

"It smells wonderful in here, Cassandra," Bella complimented. "Thank you for cooking supper."

Cassandra gave a nod of thanks. Her father had been ill of late, and Bella had devoted most of her time to taking care of him. Cassandra had been doing most of the household chores since.

"She's a good daughter," Mortimer told his wife as everyone sat down at the table to enjoy their tacos. Halfway through the meal, someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it," Cassandra told her brother when they both stood. "It's probably Darren." Darren Dreamer had stopped to visit her a lot since she divorced Don. His feelings for her were clear, but Cassandra had a hard time returning those feelings. She just wasn't ready to love again, and she didn't know if Darren would be the one.

To her surprise, she opened the door not to Darren, but a red-haired girl holding Alexander's backpack. "Is this where Alex lives?"

"It is. I'm Alex's sister, Cassandra. And you are…?"

"Tara. Tara DeBateau. I'm an exchange student from Belladonna Cove," the girl said. "I came to return Alex's backpack. That jerk Victor had it."

"Come in," Cassandra invited, stepping out of the way. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes ma'am. I went out with my father. He's outside."

"How are you an exchange student if your father is here?" Cassandra questioned as they walked back to the dining room.

"My father's business sent him here for a couple of months, and I came with him, naturally," the girl told her. "Belladonna Private agreed to transfer me as an exchange student to Pleasantview Academy for the time I'll be here. That way, when I go back, I won't have missed anything important. And I'll get a little extra credit for 'studying abroad.'"

Cassandra only smiled, listening to the girl's pleasant chatter. They stepped into the dining room then, and Alexander looked up. "Tara!"

"I got your backpack away from Victor after you got off," Tara said, holding up the bag. "Where do you want me to put it?"

Alex stood. "I'll take it," he said. "Thanks for bringing it to me. I was worried what I was going to tell Mrs. Rai tomorrow when I didn't have my homework."

Tara hugged him. "You could tell her Victor is a jerk," she said, and they both laughed. "I've got to go; my dad is waiting. I'll see you tomorrow, Alex!"

Alex's grin nearly fell off his face when he sat back down.

Holding Ripp's hand, Lilith followed Johnny and Ophelia around the campus of Sim State University. Johnny had moved here shortly after Lilith came to stay with the Smiths, and was about to begin the first semester of his senior year, and Ophelia came a year later. They had all kept in touch—Johnny called home regularly to talk to his "little sister," as he called her, and she and Ophelia had met several times for lunch during Ophelia's breaks. It had been a bit harder for them to keep in touch with Ripp, but somehow they had managed it.

Still, the four hadn't been able to resist a long "catch-up" session when Ripp and Lilith moved up to SSU. After orientation, they had all met up outside Johnny's house (Johnny, through scholarships, had been able to afford a house on campus instead of living in the dorms. Ripp was to stay with him there) and chatted for hours. Johnny had gotten engaged to Stella Terrano, an alien girl currently attending La Fiesta Tech. He had met her through an online dating site for college students, and they had gone out multiple times. Ophelia wasn't currently dating anyone, though she had met a few guys she liked.

"And, oh, Ripp! I forgot to tell you! Tank is on that college dating site. You should see his profile, it's hilarious!" Ophelia cackled. Tank had been attending La Fiesta Tech for a year now.

Then, Ophelia and Johnny had insisted on giving them a tour. "You'll love it! Trust me!" Ophelia enthused.

So they walked around the campus, with Ophelia pointing places out as they went. "That's the gym, and that's the student center. It's got all sorts of stuff, if you want to go shopping later. That's the library…and oh! There's our dorms." She had paused in front of a large brick building. "I checked this morning, Lilith. Your name is on the list of new students for our dormitory! Come on, let's pick your room."

"I…kinda left my luggage at Johnny's place," said Lilith.

"Don't worry, I'll get it to you," Johnny told her. "I'll have to go and help Ripp settle in before long."

Lilith stepped gingerly into the dormitory. It kind of smelled of old socks, and the carpet was an ugly shade of yellow, but she liked it. A list was hanging on the wall by the door-a list of people who would be moving in. She found her name: Lilith Smith, since she had been adopted by PT. Right above it was the name Angela Pleasant. "My sister is going to live here!" she gasped in delight.

"Lili?" a voice asked from behind. She spun around.

"Angie!" Lilith squealed, tackling her sister in a hug. "It's been so long! And Dustin," she acknowledged the boy standing off to the side.

Ophelia burst into giggles.

"You set that up," Ripp accused her.

"I did. I met Angela this morning and managed to convince the dean to move Lilith into the same dormitory." Ophelia smiled.

"Angie, these are my friends. This is my brother Johnny," she indicated the green-skinned boy, "and this is Ophelia, my best friend. And this," she smiled warmly at Ripp, "is my boyfriend, Ripp Grunt."

"It's wonderful to finally meet all of you," Angela said politely. "I've heard so much about you guys. I hope we can be friends. I'm Angela Pleasant, Lilith's twin sister. This is my boyfriend, Dustin Broke."

"Hi," said Dustin, and he shook hands with Johnny and Ripp.

"Come on, let's get you settled in!" Angela enthused. "And don't worry, Dad already left."

"I've got to run back to the house, and get Lilith's stuff. You guys work on claiming her a room," said Johnny as he walked out the door. Ripp followed him.

"I'm going to help Johnny," he told Lilith, planting a kiss on her cheek.

As it turned out, there was a room right in the middle between Angela's and Ophelia's rooms. To Lilith, this was perfect, and she hurried to claim it.

Angela couldn't believe her good fortune. She had her sister back! And a new friend. It seemed Ophelia was just good at making friends, as Lilith had mentioned before that Ophelia was the first of the three Strangetown teens to befriend her.

"So…about this Johnny…I didn't want to be rude and ask in front of him, but why is he green?" Angela asked as she unfolded a quilt for Lilith's bed.

Lilith and Ophelia burst into giggles. "His father is a Xyrenian," Ophelia explained.

"Xyrenian?" Angela asked.

"Green people from outer space. I know it sounds weird," she said, noting the look on Angela's face. "They come to Strangetown all the time. I know a bunch of people who've been kidnapped by the Xyrenians."

"Kidnapped?"

"Yeah, but PT doesn't do that anymore," Lilith chimed in. "He realized the error of his ways years ago, when he abducted a human woman. She made him see that kidnapping people and forcing them to have Xyrenian children was wrong. His friends and family didn't quite see it that way, though."

"That's why he came to live in Strangetown," Ophelia finished, having heard the story as many times as Lilith had. "Unlike the rest of the world, we already knew about the Xyrenians. He had a hard time getting accepted at first, but now he's very respected in our community. He met Mrs. Jenny and they got married and had Johnny and Jill."

"You never mentioned he was green," Angela said to Lilith.

"Sorry. After a while you don't even see it."

"Is Jill green?"

"No, Jill's white. Like her mom," Ophelia said. "Johnny's fiancee, Stella, is a Xyrenian."

"Physically, the Xyrenians aren't much different from us," Lilith told her sister. "Except for the green skin and black eyes. But they are much smarter, and their culture is very different. We'll have to get PT to tell you the story sometime."

"I'll get to meet him?"

"Of course!" Lilith and Ophelia exclaimed together.

"PT is like a dad to me," Lilith explained. "And to Ophelia, because she doesn't have a dad."

It took considerably less time for Ripp to get settled into Johnny's house on campus. Johnny had already moved a bed and dresser into the one other bedroom on in the house, and all Ripp had to do was move his few clothes into the dresser and place his toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairbrush in the bathroom. When he was done, he headed down the stairs and sat down to watch TV with Johnny.

"So how's Strangetown without me?" Johnny asked finally as the show switched to commercials.

"Pretty boring. My dad discovered two weeks ago that I was going to your parents' house every day to see Lilith, and we had a fight."

"Dang," Johnny commented. "You two were always on a collision course, though. What did he say when you came to Sim State instead of La Fiesta? I know he pressured Tank into going to La Fiesta Tech."

"He was mad, but then, I quit caring. After he blew up about me going to your house, I just quit putting up with him. I didn't date Lilith for years because I worried what my dad would say about a girl who lived with aliens. I wasn't going to make the same mistake with college. He rambled on and on about how I should be going to a Strangetown college, not a Pleasantview one, but I informed him that SSU belonged to the entire Sim state, not just Pleasantview."

"Amen, bro," Johnny chuckled. "Sometimes I wish I had gone to La Fiesta just because the people there are from Strangetown and know about my father's people. Here they all either look at me funny or the brave ones ask why I'm green. But I wouldn't be getting half the education."

"Ha," Ripp laughed. "You wouldn't be you if you weren't green, Johnny."

"Thanks, Ripp."

"So when do we get to meet your Stella?" Ripp asked, changing the subject.

"Well, there's a big party in a few weeks. Sim State is hosting Acadámie La Tour and La Fiesta Tech in the gym. Stella will be there, and I thought maybe we could all go."

"Sounds cool. I'll bet Lilith would enjoy that," Ripp agreed.

And so began college life for Ripp and Lilith, Dustin and Angela.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. I've been having some troubles with my Sims 2 game, and had to delete my Megahood and start over. Since this fic was loosely based on the game I had to delete, some of the facts may not match up. If anyone spots any sort of discrepancy, let me know and I'll fix it.**

Chapter 6

"Hi, Cassie," Tara chirped as she entered the Goth home, following Alexander. "Alex invited me over for supper, is that okay? I can help cook if you need me."

Cassandra suppressed a smile. "I'll be all right. I usually cook too much anyway. You like spaghetti?"

Tara nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Oh, how _cute!_" She had spotted little Mortimer on the floor, playing with his toy car. Leaning down, she smiled at him. "Hello, I'm Tara. What's your name?"

Cassandra expected her son to run to her, as he usually did with strangers, but he looked up at Tara with wide brown eyes. "My name is Mo-ta-mer," he pronounced slowly, "just like Grandpa. I'm four!" He held up four fingers proudly.

"You're four? Gracious, what a big boy. Can I call you Morty?"

"Momma does sometimes," the child answered, pointing toward Cassandra.

"This is my son," Cassandra told her. "His sister is around here somewhere, no doubt following my father around." Melanie adored the elder Mortimer, her grandfather. Mortimer had developed quite the soft spot for the only little girl in the house. "She's like you when you were young," he told Cassandra often.

"He's adorable," Tara said fondly. She lifted him off the floor in her arms. Morty giggled and hugged her.

"He usually doesn't take so well to strangers," Cassandra said. "It's amazing that he's even letting you touch him."

"Maybe he knows I like kids."

"Tara, come on!" Alexander urged. He'd been quiet for some time now, letting the two women talk. "We have a _huge_ math exam to study for."

"I'm coming," Tara said, setting Morty back on the floor. She disappeared with Alex for a little while, and Cassandra started on supper, smiling a little as Morty played on the floor. He had switched his car for his teddy bear, and was busy telling it about Tara.

"She's really nice, Teddy. You'll like her. You'll see," Morty told the bear.

"These are my brothers," Alex said, holding the hands of two little green boys. Both had black hair and pupilless black eyes. "The one on the right is Taylor," he said, "and on my left here is Tyler."

Tara tried not to let too much of her shock register on her face. Earlier today, she had started talking about aliens. Tara loved the idea of aliens in outer space. After all, the universe was a pretty big place. Everyone had laughed at her, but Alex stopped them.

"My mom was kidnapped by aliens, and I have two green brothers," he told everyone. That made everyone laugh harder. Tara, who honestly believed he was only trying to help her, had groaned. But now she was seeing proof.

"Hi, Taylor. Hi, Tyler."

"Hi," both boys said together.

"My mom and my sister were pregnant with twins at the same time," Alex told Tara. "Mom with alien kids, and Cassie with her ex's kids. It was a weird time."

"I'll say," Tara managed. "So Cassie…has been married before?"

"Yeah. Don. He was a no-good jerk. Cheated on her the day after they got married, can you believe that? She got pregnant the one night they were married."

"Wow."

"Yeah. It was way too much drama." Alex rolled his eyes. "And everyone was totally shocked."

"Well of course!" Tara exploded with laughter. "Green kids? I don't know anyone else with green kids! But they're adorable, in a very…strange sort of way."

Alex guided the two green boys back to their room. "Go play," he said. "I've got to study for my math test, and Tara is going to help me." As soon as he was sure they were where they were supposed to be, Alex began to rummage around in his desk for paper and a pen.

"So…how were these things supposed to work again?" he asked, opening his book.

Pascal Curious stared, unblinking, at the little bundle in his arms. She was beautiful, in her own strange little way. Pascal, just another nerd in a long family line of nerds, welcomed the strangeness of his green-skinned little daughter.

"Whoa," his brother, Vidcund, gasped. "YOU JUST HAD A BABY!"

"And she's green," commented a wide-eyed Lazlo, their other brother, "not that we haven't seen that before." He was referring to their two half-sisters, Chloe and Lola. The twins were definitely half alien, but how that happened was a mystery to their entire family….until now. Their full sister, Jenny, had married into an alien family, but that was different. PT made no pretenses about where he had come from.

"And here I thought I was getting fat," Pascal commented. "I think…I think something the aliens did got me pregnant." It was an odd sentence all around.

"It all makes sense now," Lazlo nodded. He leaned over the baby, trying to see. "What are you going to name her?"

Pascal paused, glancing from brother to brother.

"Well?" Vidcund prompted.

"Give me a break. I didn't even know I was pregnant. It won't hurt her to go without a name until I can think of one." Pascal leaned looked into his baby's black eyes.

"I have a name," Vidcund suggested. "Estrellita."

Pascal frowned doubtfully.

"It means 'star' in Spanish," Lazlo piped up. The three brothers had recently begun taking online language classes. Lazlo and Vidcund were taking Spanish, while Pascal was taking Latin.

"Since she came from the stars," Vidcund explained. "I rather like it."

"Well maybe," Pascal allowed. "Just until we come up with something better."

Vidcund grinned, having won. "Hello, Estrellita, my little niece."

The baby looked up at her uncle and began to cry.

"Ripp, listen to this. You won't believe it!"

"What?" Sitting at his computer, Ripp looked up at his excited friend.

"My uncle, Pascal, just had a baby!" Johnny looked and sounded amazed.

"You mean Pascal finally got himself a girlfriend?" Ripp asked.

Johnny laughed. "No, he had a baby himself. An _alien _baby. Xyrenian, like me."

Ripp frowned. "Men can't have babies by themselves, Johnny."

Johnny was quick with an answer to that. "Technically, neither can women."

"Men can't get pregnant," Ripp retorted, much to Johnny's amusement.

"Well my uncle did. My cousin's name is Estrellita." Johnny wrinkled his nose at the name.

"Estrellita. Hmm. I might put that in my paper." Ripp stared thoughtfully at the computer screen, and Johnny, rolling his eyes, left the room.

_Lilith,_

_ Meet me at 6 o'clock in front of the Student Union. I have a surprise for you. Can't wait to see you. _

_Love, _

_Me_

_P.S. You look beautiful today._

"What's that?" Ophelia asked, rounding the corner with Angela. Lilith looked up from the piece of paper she was reading.

"A note from Ripp. He's got a surprise for me." Lilith couldn't contain her smile. She had liked Ripp from the moment she laid eyes on him, and thought she'd never get him to like her back. But a year ago, Ripp had fought with his father…because he wanted to date Lilith!

Lilith never felt she had come between the father and son. They were never going to get along anyway. All she ever felt was a surge of delight and joy. He had stood up to his father…for her.

"Ooh, a surprise," Angela said, leaning over her sister's shoulder to see the note. "I wonder what it could be for?"

"Next week is our one-year anniversary. Maybe he's celebrating early," Lilith answered, feeling light-headed and giddy. "I'm supposed to meet him in two hours! Oh, what should I wear?"

Laughing, her friend and her sister were both glad to help.

"You all right, Dirk? Dirk?" asked Dustin. While the two boys weren't exactly the best of friends, they got along all right as roommates. Since they were the only Pleasantview males enrolled in college at the time, Dustin had decided he'd rather room with Dirk than a stranger. Dirk had agreed wholeheartedly.

Looking up from his desk, Dirk responded. "Yeah. I'm just nervous. I'm all right." Then, in answer to Dustin's questioning look, he clarified, "I'm going on a date with Lilith."

"Lilith Smith?" asked Dustin. He had gotten quite used to Lilith's new name, and forgotten that Dirk still thought of her as a Pleasant.

"No, Lilith Pleasant."

Dustin frowned. "But she has a boyfriend. Some guy named Ripp."

"Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. You've spoken to her?"

"Well yeah, she lives right next door to Angela."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dirk demanded.

Dustin shrugged. "I thought you were over her."

"Over her?" Dirk paused. "I was, until I saw her again, walking to class. Then I realized how beautiful she is and I thought that maybe we had both matured enough to start over."

"Sorry, man. I shoulda told you. Well, I gotta run. Class starts in thirty minutes. Enjoy your date.

Blinking her dark eyes in the bright sunlight, the woman rose shakily from the ground. She pushed a strand of pretty, dark hair out of her eyes and stretched, trying to work the stiffness out of her muscles.

"Where am I?" she asked aloud. Around her was nothing but desert. Surely there was a way out, because somehow she had managed to get here.

The thought startled her as she realized she didn't know how she got here, or where she was from, or what her name was. Panicking, she scanned the emptiness before her, trying to find some clue as to what she was doing here…and by extension, who she was.

The only way to find out was to start walking.

"You're so lucky," Ophelia said, watching Lilith apply her makeup in the mirror.

Lilith gave her a quizzical look, which caused her mascara to hit her eyelid instead of her eyelashes. Reaching for a washcloth, she asked, "Why do you say that?"

"It's been forever since I had a date!" Ophelia explained agitatedly.

"That's because there were three boys in Strangetown. One's your ex, one's your best friend, and the other is Tank." Lilith carefully reapplied her mascara. "There's plenty of guys here. I'm sure you'll meet one you like." Now finished with her makeup, she sat down beside her friend.

Ophelia sighed. "Maybe I'm just feeling desperate. Even though things didn't really work out with Johnny, I guess I always thought we'd end up together in the end. But now he's engaged and I'm…still just standing here."

Lilith hugged her. "There's somone out there for you, Ophelia. You'll find him."

Ophelia smiled a little. Lilith made the statement sound so much like fact that Ophelia could believe her. She was grateful for that. "Enjoy your date."

"Hi, Lilith," Dirk said nervously as the young woman appeared. She looked up, startled, then walked over to him.

"Hello, Dirk," she said, obviously surprised to see him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah," said Dirk, suddenly at a loss for words. "…It's always good to see you," he offered, trying to make conversation.

Lilith smiled. "It sure is. We'll have to get together sometime." She checked her watch.

Dirk looked at her, puzzled. "You didn't get my note?"

"What note? The only note I've had was one from Ripp, saying to meet him here…_Oh!_" She quickly covered up her disappointment, but his heart still sank. "That was _your _note? I'm so sorry, Dirk, but I can't go on a date with you. I'm in love with Ripp."

"I…I understand," Dirk whispered. This had gone worse than he could ever have imagined. He had hoped to woo her, but she had turned him down before he'd even had the chance.

"But…I have an idea," Lilith went on. "Why don't you come back to the dorms with me? There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Sure."

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the building where Lilith lived. A pretty girl, with dark skin like Dirk's own, met them at the door. "You're back? Already? What happened?" she demanded of Lilith. Then, noticing Dirk, "Who is this?"

"Ophelia, this is my ex, Dirk Dreamer. Dirk, this is Ophelia Nigmos, my best friend." She smiled mischievously. "She's going to be your date tonight, instead of me."

"What?" Ophelia and Dirk exclaimed together.

"But I'm not dressed for a date!" Ophelia protested.

"Then go get dressed," Lilith instructed her friend.

Maybe Dirk was only seeing what he wanted to see, but he could have sworn he saw Ophelia give Lilith a grateful look as she dashed into the building to change her clothes.


	7. Chapter 7

**To anyone who was actually following this story, I'm sorry for the long wait. I kept thinking about it at all the wrong times (like at school or church or family reunions) and then when I did have access to my computer, I just wanted to play Sims. So if you were waiting for another chapter, you have complete rights to slap me through the computer, though I shall have to request that you refrain from doing so. **

Chapter Seven

Standing in the middle of the bookstore, Darren Dreamer felt completely lost. He looked around for anything that looked remotely like what he needed—a book about plumbing so he could learn how to fix his broken sink—but he couldn't seem to figure out where it would be located. He started to drift through the aisles, scanning every title, hoping to find a plumbing book.

"Momma, when do we get to go look at kid books? I dawanna look at these grownup books!" a little voice drifted over from the other end of the aisle, catching Darren's attention. He looked up to see Cassandra Goth, the woman of his dreams, standing there with her two little ones.

"As soon as I find a book for me, we'll go look for books for you two," Cassandra promised her daughter.

"Hey, Cassandra," Darren called out as he approached her, his heart beating wildly. He hadn't felt so nervous since he was a teenager.

Cassandra cringed inwardly when she heard Darren's voice, but outwardly she kept herself perfectly under control, smiling politely as he walked toward her. "Hello, Darren. How's Dirk doing? I heard he went off to college."

Darren grinned. "Boy won't call me unless I call him first, but when I talk to him he seems to be doing fine. How about you? How have you been?"

"I'm doing fine." Cassandra nodded toward her two little ones. "These two keep me pretty busy," she said with a laugh.

"I can see that," Darren said, smiling down at Melanie and Mortimer. "Are they really little Lotharios?"

Cassandra kept her face a perfect mask. Darren worshipped her, but he was no more than a minor nuisance as far as she was concerned. "They have my last name, but Don is their father." She rolled her eyes.

"Momma, hurry up!" Little Melanie began tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"Shame, that. What he did to you, I mean," Darren quickly clarified.

"Momma!" Melanie whined, and Cassandra held up a hand to shush her.

"Yes, well. Sometimes love is real and sometimes it isn't, if you catch what I'm saying. What is wrong with you, Melanie?" Cassandra turned her attention to her daughter.

"You said we'd go find books for me and Mortimer," Melanie whined.

"Of course we will, sweetheart." She turned to Darren. "I'd better go now. It's almost nap time.

"Of course. Nice talking to you."

Cassandra nodded and walked away, holding each of the little hands in hers. Darren watched them leave, and mentally began changing some of the children's features to match his instead of Don's. It was a crying shame that such a sweet, beautiful, caring, fascinating woman had ever been wasted on that filthy Don Lothario.

Darren had met Cassandra years ago, at a neighborhood party hosted by Mortimer. He was a young widower at the time, still grieving for his late wife Darleen, but trying to keep himself together for his son, Dirk. Dirk had wanted so badly to go to that party, because Mortimer had rented some playground equipment for the children to play on. When Darren's back was turned, Dirk got away from him and fell on the sidewalk. He had run to Dirk, but Cassandra got there first.

Calming the little boy with her gentle smile and kind words, Cassandra took Dirk inside and cleaned and bandaged his scraped knee. She was so kind and wonderful that Darren fell for her right then. Since that day he had tried so hard to get her attention, but there was always something keeping her apart from him. Mostly that Don Lothario.

Darren had tried on several occasions to convince Cassandra to leave Don, but all his arguments had been futile. He had been right about the two-, ahem, four-timer, but that meant nothing. Even with Don out of the picture, Cassandra still barely gave him the time of day. Sighing, Darren resumed his search for a plumbing book.

Several aisles down, Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief. Darren had been little more than a nuisance to her for years. He always seemed so hovery, always wanting to know every little detail of her life.

And he was so quick to judge Don.

Deep down, Cassandra still loved Don. But she would never trust him, or any man, again. She could never look at him again without picturing his kiss with Dina that day outside her house. Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"This one, Mommy," said Melanie, holding up a book with a shiny pink cover. Cassandra nodded, and turned to help her son, Mortimer, pick out a book for himself. When everyone had a new book, she turned and guided her children toward the cash register, where she paid for their new reading material. A smile formed on her face as she listened to Melanie chatter to the cashier about how wonderful this new book was going to be. Melanie was like her mother in that regard—she loved books, and although she couldn't read yet, she loved to be read to. Mortimer, on the other hand, rarely sat through a whole story unless it was about something that really interested him. He was more active. More like…Don. Cassandra shied away from the thought of Don, even though she thought of him every single day. How could she not, when his appearance was stamped in the faces of her babies?

Holding the bag of books in one hand, Cassandra grabbed Melanie's hand with the other. "Hold your sister's hand," she instructed Mortimer as they left the bookstore and started across the parking lot. Staring straight ahead, Cassandra never noticed when Mortimer, disctracted by a pretty butterfly as it flew past, released his hold on his sister's hand to chase it.

"Mortimer? Mortimer Goth the Second, where are you?" Cassandra called frantically when she realized he was gone. She spun around, searching this way and that, until she spotted him. "MORTIMER!" she cried in alarm, for her child was standing in the middle of the street, with a car headed straight for him. Dropping her daughter's hand, she ran toward him, but someone else got there first.

A tall, blond-haired man snatched Mortimer away from the street just in time, holding the small boy carefully in his arms. Mortimer wailed, but the man held him firmly until his mother arrived. "You shouldn't be playing in the street," Cassandra heard him say. "You could get hurt, or worse! Don't worry, ma'am, your son is safe," he told a visibly shaken Cassandra as he handed Mortimer over to her. "And I apologize if I've left a bruise on his arm. I had to grab him quickly."

"Thank you," Cassandra managed, hugging her son to her chest, but the man shook his head.

"Don't mention it. I didn't want to see the little fellow get hurt," he said with a smile. "My name's Armand. Armand DeBateau."

"Cassandra Goth," she replied, and found herself smiling in return. Wait, was that a blush creeping into her cheeks? How embarassing! Hopefully Mr. Armand DeBateau wouldn't notice.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Goth." Armand reached over and shook her hand before going on his way. As soon as his back was turned, Cassandra darted to the car with both of her children in tow.

That night, she lay awake until 3 AM with her face buried in her pillow, trying to deny how much she really liked it when he had smiled at her. How silly, she thought, to get this excited over a stranger. After all, she was probably never going to see him again.

Was she?


End file.
